SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)--More than 1.5 million Hispanic and Latino service members have served our country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some of those veterans have been deported despite lawmakers' efforts to fix that.

This fall, a bill aimed at helping deported veterans will be reintroduced, but in the meantime, a Tijuana-based organization is providing assistance to these individuals.

“I never tried to come illegally," said Jose Cardenas, U.S. Army and National Guard Veteran. "I said, if I’m going to come up here, it’s going to be legally."

Cardenas utilized the services at the Unified U.S. Deported Veteran Resource Center while he was separated from the country he served for 13 years.

“They could’ve helped me, and they didn’t. They just let me go," said Cardenas

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